All Seven Shades
by Sasori-Delasou
Summary: Taken by the Akatsuki at the age of three, Lithium has always believed that the organization was her family. But when a group from the Land of Snow demand her return, it becomes a tug-of-war for loyalty. Sometimes, bonds are stronger than truth. Saso/OC
1. Vague Memories

Rain pattered unceasingly at the lone window of a bedroom. Lightning flashed, illuminating the outlines of two figures.

"I still don't see how the girl is important,"

The first man hissed. It was easy to picture the scowl that twisted his lips.

"Do not question me, Sasori,"

The other male spat back. His piercings shone dully against the artificial lamps, and flickered white whenever lighting chose to strike outside.

"I know what she is worth. Once we have her, you will make sure she is trained. We do not have the time to fool around; you know at least _that_ much. And I want her trained _well_."

The man so clearly in charge turned to leave, cloak fluttering as he headed to the door. He paused after gripping the knob, as if he were thinking again.

"I want her with you in no less than three days. _Three days_, Sasori."

Then he made his leave, leaving Sasori alone to brood sullenly.

* * *

A small child opened her eyes to gaze at the black ceiling above her. She sat up, the comforter around her slipping down to rest in her lap as she turned to gaze out her window. Rain spattered in taps against the glass, and a rumble of thunder shook, causing the girl to shudder. She moved to get up, her bare feet hitting the wooden floor. She winced lightly at the cold. Maybe she should have worn socks to bed.

Standing, she headed to her door. After stepping out of her room, she rubbed at one eye as she headed to the staircase. She vaguely remembered that her mother had been sleeping downstairs for a while. Her feet hit the carpeted stairs without so much as a soft rustle of her nightclothes.

"Momma?"

The child called out, moving to go down the hallway alongside the staircase. She called out again. Still no reply. She frowned lightly, but froze at a shift from behind her.

"Your mother's not here."

The girl turned sharply, eyes widening in surprise. When had someone entered the house?

"W-What?"

She squeaked, taking a step back.

"She's not here. You're to come with me."

"No!"

She ran around him and towards the stairs. No was was she going to leave without Momma! Two strong (yet oddly gentle) hands wrapped around her waist. She struggled as he lifted her up off the ground, kicking and hitting the man with her tiny hands and feet.

"S_top_."

She froze at the harshness of his voice, and then broke into quiet tears. The man scowled, shifting the girl closer to his shoulder. What had the file said about her? There was some kind of music that she was calmed with… singing? He gave a wry smile, moving to rest her head against him.

He watched as the child visibly relaxed into him as he hummed, and he reached up with a hand to brush her dark hair away from her face. He wasn't going to sing to the child, let alone get caught singing to her in the base. Tobi could do that instead; he was sure the masked idiot would happily do anything of the sort to make someone else happy.

"Momma,"

She murmured, burying her face into his neck. The man paused, then turned, stepping outside onto the porch. He opened an umbrella, frowning again at the fact that it was raining.

"Base, here we come,"

He muttered, shifting the girl in his arms before heading off. He wanted to make it back by morning.


	2. Shades of Red

I forgot to add this in the last chapter. Dx  
Everything Naruto-related belongs to Kishimoto. Lithium belongs to me.

* * *

"I still don't see why Leader needs me to do this,"

A girl muttered as she headed down a hallway, shifting the small bag on her shoulder to the other. She stopped in front of one of the doors, giving two knocks on it before opening it. Sticking her head in, she asked,

"Sasori?"

"Over here, Lithium."

She spun around, eyes widened in surprise. Kisame had said that he had been in his room, not wandering around! She noted that she would have to get back at the shark man later.

"Leader's sending me on a mission. I wanted to know if you had any vials of that one poison left."

The puppet merely raised an eyebrow at her in response. They stood there in silence for a minute before she gave an annoyed huff.

"You know! That blue one!"

"'That blue one?' Lithium, I've taught you for how many years now?"

Lithium paused, and ticked off the years on her fingers as she named them off. When she finished, she repeated that she had been under the Akatsuki's care for fourteen years, and that she should have known the names to poisons by then. It wasn't her fault that she was lazy, and preferred to spend her days in the forest surrounding the base rather than in Sasori's room, reading out of dusty books and taking notes on information that was decades old.

"Besides, you know I have horrible memory!"

"That isn't an excuse. Even a person who forgets more than remembers can remember something if they are taught every year."

"Whatever. Now, do you have any left?"

"Yes, yes. Pushy as always."

She followed him into his room with a scowl, up until he handed her the small container. She swirled the liquid inside around, making sure it was still good before placing it in the pouch at her side. Now she had everything. If the mission went as planned, she could be back by the end of the week.

"Where are you going?"

Sasori's voice broke Lithium from her thoughts, and she looked up.

"Ah… the Land of Snow..." She replied, flashing the redhead a grin. Finally! She was going someplace where her powers were useful! Snow and ice only worked so well.

* * *

"Be safe, will you?"

His voice was the same flat monotone he always used, but his gaze obviously gave away a hint of his worry. She gave a small scoff in response, crossing her arms over her chest. Did he _still_ think she could take care of herself?

"Sasori, I'm not three anymore. I'm sure I'll be fine. Besides, if I _do_ get hurt somehow, I have basic medic training – you know that, right?"

The wry smile on his face told her that he did know that, but it hadn't completely soothed the worry that he had.

"Danna, I'll be fine. I promise."

She used the name she had picked up from Deidara (even though she didn't use it that often), moving to give the older male a quick hug before heading towards the door. Turning, she added,

"Try not to kill Deidara while I'm gone, 'kay?"

Then she disappeared, heading off down the hallway.

She was oblivious that she had left a very confused puppet behind, leaving only the books and notes she had always left in his room. Turning, he moved to go back towards his desk when a paper fluttered down out of nowhere. Picking it out of the air, he frowned as he opened it. It was all blank inside apart from a single line.

* * *

That line was colored in red.

* * *

I haven't had much inspiration lately. .__. I've been cramming in my report and tri-fold for the Science Fair (due Tuesday), and I still have to see what my teacher means by "needing visuals/graphs/tables" in the report. The whole description thing is confusing.  
Now, if you excuse me, I'm gonna go listen to Davey Havok.


	3. Shades of Orange

Sorry about the slow (super slow) update. :) If you look on my profile, there's a little paragraph stating why. Or, if you'd like to know now, My computer's hard drive crashed. There. The full story is on my profile.

Everything Naruto related belongs to Kishimoto. Lithium belongs to me.

* * *

Getting to the Land of Snow was much harder than Lithium had wanted it to be. She had been ambushed three times (the second one resulting in a sprained ankle), and she was sure that she was supposed to be back at the base by the time she had reached it.

"Leader will just have to wait, then,"

She grumbled to herself as she looked for a way into the village. She ended up jumping (with mild difficulty) onto a roof, wobbling until she caught herself. This resulted in more grumbling as she headed down and into the streets, looking for a place to stay. An inn would have been sufficient; as she looked around, she had a bit of trouble finding such a place. Eventually she found one, and she found some comfort in the warmth of the building.

"Would you like a room, dear?"

Lithium turned her head to see an elderly lady sitting at what seemed to be the check-in desk. She gave a small smile, replying,

"Yes, please."

The room itself was a little small, but reminded her of a grandma's guest room. There was a window on the opposite wall of where the door was, and there was even a shower in the bathroom. Setting her pack down, she gave an exhausted sigh as she fell backwards onto the bed. It bounced a little in response to her flop, but settled down soon enough.

"I wonder how Danna's doing,"

She mumbled to herself, frowning up at the ceiling. Oh, she hoped he hadn't lost his temper at Deidara (which he often did; she usually had to place herself between them to break them up. Well, with a bit of shouting on her part, of course).

Giving up on that topic, she moved to pull her pack up from the ground to shuffle through it.

"Might as well take a shower – maybe the water will work out my back."

Her back was stiff from sleeping up in trees, and there was bound to be a dozen or so scratches, let alone the ones on her arms and legs.

Maybe she should have brought more than bandages.

After toweling her hair so that it wasn't dripping she headed over to the window, peering out to look at the life going on outside. Lights were on, and even though it was getting dark there were plenty of people buzzing about with bags and cups. Eating sounded good all of a sudden. Throwing on her jacket, she noted that she would have to buy a hat (at the least) before she came back. And maybe some paper would be nice for a letter to Sasori. That might help the older man from stressing – she was hoping that would happen, anyway. She didn't want him throwing a fit or something like that.

The food was better than what she had eaten in weeks, and went around from booth to booth, nibbling on whatever seemed to look like it would taste good. Of course, some coffee would have been even better, but she'd have to stop in a shop for that. Was it worth it?

Of course it was.

Walking out with a steaming cup (one of those portable ones with the lid – you know, the plastic ones), She debated on what to do next. A book might have done good to pass the time; a game or some music might do just as well on her terms.

"Oh, forget it,"

She muttered, shaking her head as she turned. Heading back was the best choice. She wanted sleep, and this was going to be the best night of it she'd have for a while. If it weren't for her ankle, she would have ran back to the inn. She ended up fast-wobbling instead, humming happily as she looked about. It seemed like a nice place to be, and the constant snowfall made everything have a little sparkle to it.

Heading back up the stairs to her room, she decided to send a letter out to Sasori. She wasn't too tired yet, and it would pass the time.

* * *

A couple days later, Sasori opened up a letter that had came for him. Inside was no note. Instead there was a folded up piece of lined paper, and it took him a moment to open it up all the way. Once he did, however, he frowned. Inside were two lines. The first was colored in red.

* * *

The second was filled in with orange.

* * *

It's done! I got some free time, so I've typed this up with it. I tried writing in Band class today, but my teacher played a movie and I couldn't concentrate. I doodled on my friend's pants instead. Reviews equals motivation which equals chapters!


	4. Shades of Yellow

Okay, so I had some more free time today, even though I have Spirit Day to plan for and have a Math test to study for. I don't feel like studying. I did horrible on my commercial (I don't do well in front of audiences), but I'm positive I aced my Science test. :D I rule, winging both of them and not practicing or studying.

Everything Naruto related belongs to Kishimoto. Lithium belongs to me.

* * *

Waking up was extremely hard for Lithium to do. She didn't set the alarm on her clock, so it wasn't until around eleven in the morning that she started to stir. Then she stayed under the blankets for about an hour after she woke up, not wanting to move around yet. On the other hand, she had a mission to do, so she ended up getting out of bed anyway.

"Okay. I just need to find the scroll library or whatever."

She mumbled to herself as she pulled her hair back. After quickly making sure that she was presentable she headed out, and was surprised to see that the streets were as busy as the day before. She stopped an older lady after walking around aimlessly for an hour or two, and she got directions. She quickly thanked the lady before hurrying off (or as fast as she could hurry with a damaged ankle). She walked for a bit more until she bumped into a girl around her age.

"Oh, sorry!"

She apologized, stopping and turning around. She was bet with a pair of amused (not angry) eyes as the girl replied,

"It wasn't a problem."

She held out her hand, and Lithium took it without a second thought.

"I'm Touketsu. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Lithium."

The group of two girls and a boy seemed nice enough, so she decided to walk with them a bit. It wasn't like her mission was going anywhere, after all. The other girl's name was Tsumetai, and the boy was Hiroshi. They seemed to like a lot of the things that she did, which she found just a tad bit odd. Glancing up at a clock near the roof of the shop they were currently in, she noted,

"I'm sorry, but I have to be going."

"Places to be?"

Hiroshi asked with a smug smile, and Lithium scowled lightly in response.

"Yes, I do. I didn't know you were nosy."

"It's part of my charm."

Rolling her eyes, she bid them farewell before heading out again. A low grumble of words left her as she remembered the time, and knew that the place would be closing soon. She didn't want to break into the place, after all, but she really needed to be heading back. She bounced (not really) up the steps and into the library, heading over to the scroll section. She knew it wasn't going to be just sitting on a shelf, so she began running a hand along the wall. Soon enough it disappeared through one, and the paused before sticking her head in. There was a dimly lit hallway that led into darkness, and she figured that the scroll was probably down there.

"Great. Dust and spiders, here I come."

Taking the scroll was even easier. No alarms, no falling roofs or any fired weapons. Just silence. Giving a happy sigh, Lithium pocketed the scroll into her pack before turning back.

"Time to get out of here,"

She half-cheered, throwing a fist into the air as she grinned to herself. Take that, Danna! No tripping this time! Her happy mood was cut off when she turned a corner, and there were snow ninja heading down towards her.

"Oh, snap."

Her eyes narrowed. Of _course_ there would be more ninja. They couldn't just let her go and be all merry, right? Of course not. One of the ninja attacked first, throwing out a kunai tied with a paper bomb. It was easy enough dodging it, but she knew it was going to burn her if she didn't move forward.

"This is _not_ my day."

* * *

The ninja were a major pain to get rid of. She now had a pretty stab wound in her side, and as she sat on her bed she was gritting her teeth from the pain.

"Maybe I'd better tell Danna."

She gingerly reached for a piece of paper, hoping he wouldn't be too mad.

* * *

"Are you serious?"

She looked down as Sasori paced in front of her, hands folded behind his back as he frowned.

"You really allowed yourself to get hurt like this?"

"I didn't mean to,"

Lithium mumbled, not bothering to look up.

"That's not the point! Didn't I tell you to be careful? Didn't I _teach_ you to be careful? You could have died! Then what? The Akatsuki is no position to lose anyone."

"I'm sorry, Danna."

"You better be."

He reached out then, and she shut her eyes in case he lashed at her. Instead she felt him brush her hair away, as he added more softly,

"Besides, I don't think Tobi would be happy if you left him. Deidara doesn't take to him very much."

She looked up then, sending a small smile up at the redhead. She knew that; the orange-masked man usually followed her around in his free time (well, the free time not spent with Zetsu). She sneezed then, and asked,

"Can I have some tea? I think I'm catching a cold."

"Sure. You stay here, though – I don't want those stitches ripping."

"You worry too much, Danna."

"No. I'm just being rational, something you don't do much."

"I'm more rational than you."

That earned her a light tap on the nose, and she whined as she rubbed at it. What had that been for?

"I'll be back."

She watched as Sasori left, before giving a sigh. She spotted a piece of wood on his desk, and, against his wishes, stood up. She hissed as her side complained against the movement, but she headed over anyway.

After shooing Lithium back to her room for rest (she had already finished her tea and had asked enough questions for the day), he ran a hand through his hair. What _was_ he going to do with her? Sitting down at his desk, he scowled when he saw a letter taped to his latest work.

After opening and unfolding the (again lined) paper, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. The first line was colored in red; the second line was colored in orange.

* * *

The third line was colored in yellow.

* * *

Well, there you go. All one thousand and forty-four words of it. I outlined three chapters today. THREE. Not one, not two, THREE. Be happy on my not listening in Math because I know the stuff already. I'm going to have dinner now (ramen), watch something, and relax. Maybe I'll write tomorrow. Or Saturday. Or today. I don't know.  
Reviews equals motivation, and motivation equals more chapters!


	5. Shades of Green

More free time! I finished my Spirit Day outfit, so I decided to look through my notes. I'm sad that I only have three chapters left now! I'll probably be exhausted tomorrow, so I won't update for the next day or two. I've decided to plop in three chapters for the week, and then rest a bit. :) Since I have all my notes planned out, a friend asked about a sequel. Would you guys like one?

Everything Naruto related belongs to Kishimoto. Lithium belongs to me.

* * *

Lithium awoke groggily sometime at night, and a sour glance at the clock told her it around half past one.

"Great…"

She groaned to herself, sitting up and running a hand through her tousled hair. She obviously wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon, so she decided to wander about until she felt tired again. The stitches in her side protested against her wishes, and she exhaled a low breath before moving again.

She moved quietly down the halls of the base, looking around mindlessly as she allowed her buzzing mind to think. She passed by Deidara's room; then she was able to watch as she passed Hidan's and then Kisame's. Oddly enough, she ended up outside Pein's office. She moved to pass by; a sudden sharp tone from inside made her stop.

"Why would they want her now, out of all times?"

"Danna?"

He voice wasn't loud enough to carry through the wooden door, but it slipped out of her before she could stop herself.

"Sasori, don't argue with me. I know this is a bad time to deal with them, but I think we should tell her anyway."

"Pein, she doesn't _know_. What would she think of us if she knew? We would lose her."

"I realize that. But she's going to find out sooner or later; I think it should be sooner."

"Pein, please-"

"No. I'll tell her in the morning. She can decide for herself what she wants to do after I'm done speaking to her."

Lithium was frowning by that time, confused as to what they were conversing about. It was about a girl, obviously, but she didn't know if it was about her. I could have been about Konan for all she knew.

"…Alright."

"Then it's settled. You are dismissed."

She managed to turn and head back before Sasori stepped out of the office, and she threw a cautious glance behind her before heading back.

There was no way she could sleep now.

* * *

"Lithium, come in."

She took a step into Pein's office, closing the door behind her. Then she moved to take a seat in front of the desk as the man spoke.

"A problem has emerged recently. A clan known as the Arashi has sent me a letter demanding your return. I replied, denying their claim, but I wanted you to know why."

Lithium could feel the blood drain from her face as her leader spoke.

"They are your biological family."

* * *

"Don't you "didn't need to know" me!"

Lithium snapped, glaring up at Sasori with her I'm-way-more-than-mad expression. They had been arguing for some time now, and the puppet was starting to fault on answers for her angered questions.

"When were you going to tell me this?"

"Well, I-"

"When?"

Sasori sighed, eyes closing for a moment. When he opened them he looked away, running a hand through his hair.

"We decided that you didn't need to know. We thought it would be… better for you if you remained oblivious to them."

"Because of my memory loss, right?"

He gave a small, jerky nod.

"I can't believe you! You… out of _all_ people… I don't see-"

Lithium was suddenly cut off when Sasori reached out for her, hands catching the sides of her face as he pressed his lips to hers. Her eyes widened for a moment, obviously surprised at his actions. After a moment, though, she slowly returned the kiss as her hands reached up of their own accord. When they pulled apart he looked at her with an almost desperate expression, and she gave a small sigh in response.

"Sasori… I'm still upset on this, you know. But I can understand your reason. I'm guessing they aren't too friendly?"

"No. They're a somewhat hostile group. You wouldn't fit in at all."

She gave a small nod, and then moved to pull the redhead into a hug. She closed her eyes, resting her chin on one shoulder.

"You're such a loser."

"I know. But you tolerate it."

"Sometimes, Danna. Sometimes."

* * *

Lithium spent the rest of the day in Sasori's room, reading a book she had found on his bedside table why he worked. She would ask questions on the plot or characters once in a while; he only gave curt, short replies, seeing as he was focusing on his work. She left to make herself dinner, and then went off to bed. She was still tired from her mission – and her side wasn't helping much by adding pain. Pain relievers had become her new best friend.

Sasori stopped working at some point in the evening, sitting down and reaching out for his book. His bookmark (to his annoyance) was sitting next to it. But as he looked, he found that a letter had taken its place. Opening it, he frowned again (much like he did with all the others). The first line was filled in red. The second line was filled in orange. The third line was colored in yellow.

* * *

The fourth line was colored in green.

* * *

Oh ho ho, some tension there, eh? Another friend pleaded for something to happen between them. Hope you're happy. ;) Let's hope my team wins Spirit Day tomorrow. Go Commanders!  
Reviews equals motivation which equals more more chapters! Drop a review by, please~ I'd like to know what you all think of this.  
- Sassy


	6. Shades of Blue

Hey, guys! I can't believe that I staed up until two last night. .__. I was all zombie-like this morning. But I'm better now, and I've written some more. Oh, and check out the poll on my profile. It's pertaining to this story.

Everything Naruto-related belongs to Kishimoto. Lithium belongs to me.

* * *

Lithium was more than happy to help Sasori whenever she could, mostly because of the calm feeling he had around him. It was soothing, in a way, keeping her restless mind at bay as she handed over charts and vials when he asked for them. Not a lot of arguing was done between them during that time. One or two times they might have had a light bicker, but that was usually over poison components and venom.

At one point a question bubbled in her mind, and she asked,

"Danna, why do the Arashi want me back all of a sudden?"

Sasori was mildly surprised at the fact that she hadn't used the term "family" and had used their name instead. Looking up from the notes he was taking, he replied,

"I'm not sure myself. I believe that they had believed that you had wandered off and had disappeared, and so they did not acknowledge you as part of their clan. On hearing that you were indeed alive and with us, they chose take you back."

"But why would they want someone who isn't part of their clan?"

"Your father was an Arashi, was he not?"

Lithium frowned. She didn't know which clan her father had belonged to, let alone her mother's.

"I… guess…?"

The redhead sighed. She didn't know, then. He was suddenly glad that Pein had dug down for research on her family.

"Since your father was an Arashi, your mother took that name when she was married. Right?"

"Right. But what does that have to do with-"

"That means you took your father's clan name as well. They recognize you as one of them."

Lithium paused, looking down. As a child, she had been curious as to why she didn't look like any of the other Akatsuki members. It was a relieving to know why, but she would have preferred to have been oblivious to it if the Arashi were threatening the Akatsuki. She didn't want any of them getting hurt – even if there were one or two members that annoyed her beyond belief.

"I… I don't want to go with them."

Sasori looked up fully, eyes widening slightly as her sudden statement.

"I want to stay here. It's probably not a smart decision on my part, but I've grown to think of all of you as _my_ family. And if it means giving up the chance to be with my relatives, then I'm willing to do that. I don't want to lose any of you."

She looked up soon enough to barely see Sasori's arms reach for her, and she was quickly pulled against him in a hug. His nose buried into her hair; a quiet exhale of breath was the only response she got from him at first. They sat like that for a moment, enjoying the silence that came with it.

"I don't think it's a stupid choice at all."

Lithium gave a small laugh, tilting her head up to look at him. She reached up with a hand and poked his nose.

"You're just saying that to keep me here."

"Of course I am."

"You're selfish."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment."

She stuck her tongue out at him, and she earned an amused chuckle in response. It was funny how they could turn most situations into ones that seemed perfectly natural to them.

"But you really think that I should stay?"

Sasori paused, looking out at the wall ahead of them as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

"If you feel more comfortable with us, it seems reasonable that you'd want to stay. People often don't like being shoved into new scenarios without having time to adjust."

"Oh… Does that mean Pein plans on making sure I stay."

"Exactly."

* * *

"This is bad. This is going all wrong."

Sasori's hands were palm-down on Pein's desk, scowling at the papers crumpled under them.

"They can't really be threatening to bring _everyone_. Even you know that it is a foolish mistake to risk all of one's members, especially if they are family."

"Yes, I do. But if they are carrying out what they wrote, we'll need every member to fight."

"Pein, you can't send her-"

"I can, and I _will_. Do not question me, Sasori."

The redhead scrunched the papers even more under his hands, trying his best to hold sown his anger.

"Yes, leader."

"Good. I'll hold a meeting in the morning. Now get some rest – you're going to need it."

* * *

The meeting was held in the morning, just as Pein had ordered. Most of the Akatsuki were more than happy to be fighting. Hidan had complained about the fight and how it was going to stress his back even more, which had resulted in an argument with Kakuzu. Zetsu had been a little skeptical at first, but the Akatsuki leader was more than able to change that.

So now they all stood outside the main base, eyes searching in every angle to prevent any possible ambushes. Sasori had kept a firm hold around Lithium, even though she had protested and claimed that she was fine and could take care of herself. He had simply stated that he didn't want her injuring herself even more due to her side, which was almost completely healed but could easily reopen.

"They're here."

Pein's voice directed them to the edge of the forest, where figures were slowly emerging. One by one the Arashi clan filed out; they all seemed grim, robot-like, but determination flared each person when they spotted the small girl situated next to Sasori.

"Pein, you know why we're here."

An elderly man stepped forward, white beard swishing as he spoke. The Akatsuki leader gave a clipped nod, replying,

"I do."

"And you do know the consequences of the choice you have made."

"Yes."

The girl Lithium recognized as Touketsu glanced at her, asking,

"Is she fighting?"

"She wants to stay with us."

The raven-haired girl frowned, but said no more. Her brother had different plans, however, and Lithium gasped as she watched Itachi dodge a shuriken a second before it hit him.

"I didn't even see it heading towards him,"

She whispered. Sasori's grip only tightened. The fight exploded faster that she had wanted it to, the puppet moving away when a woman moved to lash at him.

"_Traitor!_"

Lithium turned just in time to doge a blow to her stomach, and managed to skid backwards against the grassy floor. The girl who had attacked her seemed a year or two younger than her, with familiar black hair. The only difference was her strikingly emerald eyes; they disturbingly reminded the Akatsuki girl of a cobra. She tried to move accordingly to the Arashi member's attacks, dodging the sword whenever it was jabbed at her. The girl was obviously experienced with it.

"Lithium, behind you, un!"

She cursed as she bent backwards, avoiding a blow that would have been fatal. Kicking her legs up and balancing on her hands, she gave a kick to the girl's chin before flipping upright again. Her opponent wiped the back of her hand across her lips before attacking again.

Sasori's worries on her not being able to fight were confirmed when he managed to catch a glimpse of the raven-crimson haired girl clutching her shoulder. The girl she was fighting was advancing quickly; it was more than obvious that she was taking advantage of Lithium's wounded state.

"Tobi, get her out of here!"

He called to the masked man, who got the message and bounded off towards his fellow member. The sword-wielding girl was not amused at his intruding, and aimed her next blow at him. Tobi gave a squeak before flickering away from the assault. He appeared next to Lithium, giving a quick "Tobi will take care of her" before scooping the quickly-faltering girl up in his arms.

Lithium only remembered hearing Tobi's name before blacking out.

* * *

"Lithium? Are you awake?"

A groan escaped her lips as she stirred, eyes cracking open to look up. Konan was there, a relieved look flashing across her face Lithium looked up at her.

"You're awake. Pein will be glad to hear that."

The blue-haired kunochi pushed her back down when she tried to sit up, making sure to be gentle about it.

"Careful, now. We don't need you hurting yourself more than you already have."

"Where's-"

"Sasori's fine. Trust me, he was as ruffled as a bird when he heard about you."

"How is everyone else?"

"Nothing serious. Now rest – you've got a lecture coming soon, I can assure you."

Lithium gave a strained smile.

"That's Danna for you."

She closed her eyes again, feeling much better than she had been when she woke up.

'_Danna… Everyone… Stay safe. That's all I ask._'

* * *

Sasori didn't know about the letter that now sat on his bed, unopened. Inside was another sheet of lined paper. The first line was filled in red. The second was filled in with orange. Yellow covered the third. Green was scribbled in the fourth.

* * *

The fifth was shaded in blue.

* * *

I can't believe that I only have two more chapters to go. It seems like I just started this yesterday, when it was well over a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me through this, and for being patient when I had computer troubles. :)


	7. Shades of Indigo

Okay, so this is probably my last update on this before Christmas. I got cookies to bake, presents to wrap, you know? Yay, holidays.  
Everything Naruto-related belongs to Kishimoto. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo. Lithium belongs to me.

* * *

Sleep was almost impossible for Lithium. Konan had ended up giving her some sleeping pills, but that had only resulted in a few hours of restless sleep. Now she just wandered about the empty base, worrying about the other members. It was frustrating, not being able to help. And she probably had Sasori just as worried because of her shoulder.

Reaching up to brush her fingers over the bandages, she stopped. Her gaze fell, and a small sigh escaped her. What was she to do? She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if anyone else got injured…

"I guess I'm going back, then."

Walking outside hadn't been that difficult – Konan had been in her room the whole time, no doubt sleeping from staying up all night – and she was met with a still-raging battle. The Akatsuki seemed to be just fine; Hidan was practically having a ball as he swung at any opponent he could see. An explosion made her jump slightly. Turning, she spotted the blond a few feet away. He had some minor scratches from what she could see – nothing serious.

The worst seemed to be Hidan, but only because of whatever stupid ritual he had decided to use. She figured that Kakuzu would stitch the Jashinist up later.

"Note to self: ignore any arguing from them later,"

She grumbled to herself, frowning lightly. The two argued constantly; most of her headaches came from said arguing. Well, mostly Hidan's voice. Clearing her mind, she spun around again to look for one other person. She spotted her focus a bit out in the blob of fighting, and she couldn't help but take a step forward. Sasori had blocked some kind of staff with Hiruko's tail, and recognized the wielder to be the boy she had met days earlier.

Lithium's stomach lurched as Hiroshi was stuck by the puppet's tail. The boy staggered back, but moved to aim another blow. Her feet moved of their own accord, running towards the pair. She had to dodge a few swings and such herself; it wasn't like the path would clear for her.

"Stop!"

Skidding to a halt between the two, she held out her arms. Her one met the Arashi's chest; the other was held out in the air, though it had the same effect.

"Lithium, what are you doing?"

The low growl of Hiruko made her look down, and she shook her head.

"I'm done with this."

She sent a glare over at Hiroshi before continuing.

"The Arashi shouldn't have decided on fighting. What were you planning on accomplishing? Wounding them and gaining me? Your leader knew that I had chosen the Akatsuki over you."

The boy's eyes widened as he took a step back.

"That's not true. He told us you wanted to come back… He wouldn't lie to us."

"I think he did. I'm not coming back with you, not matter how many times your clan tries. I am not a part of anything you people do, nor do I plan on being anything. I've found my place here. Your elder should have respected that."

For a moment, Hiroshi seemed to look as if he was going to ignore everything she had said. Then he sighed, eyes closing.

"I don't understand, and I don't think I ever will. But if you aren't coming with us, then there really is no point."

He paused, looking at her with an expression she couldn't make out.

"And I had hoped that you would choose wisely."

"She has,"

Came a gruff reply from behind her. She turned her head to look back at Sasori, who was ignoring her gaze and was directing his attention at Hiroshi.

"Your leader should have left the decision up to her, and should not have planned anything else."

The boy gave a dark glower at the puppet before turning, stalking off into the dozens of people around them. Lithium then gave a huff, plopping herself onto the ground. Why did boys have to be so stubborn? Sure, he hadn't argued further, but the look aimed at Sasori hadn't been needed.

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

Lithium turned to send a wary grin over at her Danna.

"I know. I do a good job of it, don't you think?"

* * *

Sasori had his suspicions of where the youngest Akatsuki member was when an all-too-familiar noise drifted in from the main room. Inside he found a couple of the members watching the single TV, with Kisame and Hidan arguing over the remote. Tobi was on the couch, sitting beside Lithium as he peered over his shoulder. The annoyed girl was currently complaining to her masked friend about something related to electricity and water, and how she kept losing.

"Lithium."

It was a moment before she lifted her head from the screen, and then sent the redhead an unhappy look.

"Danna! My Mudkip keeps on dying!"

Sasori just gave a wry smile.

"Konan says that you shouldn't be out of bed yet. Any particular reason as to why you're out here?"

"I was bored."

Lithium then proceeded to ignore him, back to pressing buttons and taking advice from Tobi. After a moment she paused, glancing up again.

"You can watch too, if you want. Tobi doesn't bite."

And that was how Sasori ended up sitting next to her, listening quietly as she tried to explain what she was doing. He didn't get any of it (of course), but tried his best to help anyways. He even went so far as to take the game console from her to try himself, which didn't work out too well. He had no clue as to what he was doing, and quickly handed the game back, stating that it wasn't for him. The only response he got was a comment on how he should learn to play the game.

As day droned on into evening, Lithium was shooed back into her room by a not-so-happy Konan.

"What are you doing out of bed? Do you _want_ your shoulder to heal wrong?"

Sasori had followed, of course, looking more than slightly amused as she was forced back into the bundle of blankets that was her bed.

"Sasori, would you go make her some tea? And bring back the blue bottle next to it – I'll need that."

The redhead didn't want to know what was inside the mentioned bottle, or why she needed it. He just gave a nod before heading off. As he walked, he allowed his mind to wander off about everything and nothing. There wasn't anything more to think about – well, apart from missions that were soon to be rolling out again, but he didn't want to think about that.

* * *

Pulling open the cabinet, his eyebrows furrowed as he reached in. He pulled out a letter, unwritten on like the others he had received. Opening it, he was met with the same familiar lined paper. The first line was colored red. The second was colored orange. The third was yellow, and the fourth was green. The fifth line was shaded in blue.

* * *

The sixth line was colored in indigo.

* * *

Yeah, I had to put the Mudkip in there. It's a long story, but that's Lithium's favorite Pokemon.  
Reviews are nice, yes?


	8. Shades of Violet

Everything Naruto-related belongs to Kishimoto. Lithium belongs to me. :)

* * *

The next few days passed in relaxing calamity. Sure, Lithium hadn't been able to wander around much, but that was made up for the amount of time that Sasori was with her. He never seemed to leave; she only recalled him walking out once or twice because Pein had wanted him for something. Other than that, he was settled in beside her, silent as she kept herself occupied. Reading was her main focus – by four days, she had knocked down almost two books. She politely turned down the puppet's offers of herbal and poison-related books, which he responded with a wry grin.

Soon enough she could move her shoulder again (with some difficulty, of course), and was free to wander about. Late fall had arrived by then.

"Danna, I want to go outside."

"Are you sure?"

The small girl gave an annoyed huff.

"Danna, I haven't been outside in _ages_. I'm going to go insane if I don't get out of here in the next five minutes."

Sasori just gave a chuckle in response, but stood up from his desk.

"Alright, then. I want you to pull on a coat, though. I'm not letting you get sick after that shoulder of yours."

Lithium was reluctant to throw on a jacket, let alone a scarf he also wanted her to wear.

* * *

It was a colder than usual outside, and Lithium found herself pressed against Sasori's side as they walked towards the forest. He simply stated on how he had told her that it would be cold.

She just told him to shut up.

* * *

The forest floor was scattered with millions of decorated leaves. Lithium reached down to pick up a bright red leaf, comparing it to Sasori's hair as they continued walking.

"Look, Danna! You could be related to a tree!"

"I don't think so."

"Well, I think so. You'd be a very good tree."

"And you'd be a very good rabbit."

"Why, thank yo- hey, that wasn't nice!"

Lithium gave a small whine, and Sasori ruffled her hair.

* * *

Returning from outside was easier done than said. Sasori had apparently decided on when they should return back to the base, and was now in the kitchen to make her some tea while she curled up in front of the television. Finding a channel that was amusing enough, she stretched out with a small yawn.

She had been in the process of closing her eyes when a cup was brought into her line of vision.

"Sit up, Lithium."

With a grumble the mentioned girl sat up, taking the tea away from Sasori so that he could sit down beside her. He merely watched her as she watched the flickering screen. Her soon-empty cup ended on the small coffee table in front of the couch.

A pair of muddy eyes widened when an envelope was thrusted in front of them, and Sasori sent Lithium a raised eyebrow.

"Just open it."

Inside was a piece of lined paper.

* * *

The first line was colored red.

The second line was colored orange.

The third was yellow.

The fourth green.

The fifth was blue.

The sixth was indigo.

* * *

The last line was filled in violet.

* * *

Sasori frowned at the paper, not understanding the meaning in the slightest.

"I added another line for every day of the week,"

Lithium mumbled quietly, and he turned his head to look at her. She gave him a small smile, and he rolled his eyes. Then he pulled her forward, pressing his lips to hers.

"You're such a puzzle, you know that?"

"I know."

"I still expect you to be in bed early. Just because you're feeling better doesn't mean that you don't need rest."

"Yes, Danna."

* * *

Well, there it is. I finished it. Yes, it was just a bunch of fluff. I intended for it to be that way. xD  
Reviews would be greatly appreciated. Let me know how I did on my -first- completed story here. I'm still not sure if I'm wanting to do a sequel.


End file.
